I don't want to let this story fall off the stack because I think it exposes the degree to which it is functionally impossible to separate Israel's ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, from the US regime's support for, and facilitation of that genocide. Indeed, although I use the term "Israel's genocide" for convenience, the reality is that given the crucial material, political, and legal support the US is offering for what remains an American client state committing crimes against humanity in full cooperation with US corporate interests (particularly weapons system manufacturers and surveillance technology companies) the genocide in Gaza is very much America's genocide.

Of course Very Serious People TM in the US media discourse disagree with that analysis, but at what point is it okay to stop taking those denials seriously? I contend that once Marco Rubio and Trump's State Department are issuing sanctions against United Nations Palestine expert Francesca Albanese, while expressly admitting its because her work exposing those responsible for the genocide in Gaza threatens US business interests, it's okay to give anyone denying America's responsibility for the greatest crime against humanity since the Second World War a wedgie and ignore their sophistry.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/rubio-sanctions-albanese

In 'Lawless, Vile Act,' Trump Admin Sanctions UN Expert Critical of Israeli Genocide in Gaza

"In a post on the social media site X, Rubio said he is imposing sanctions on Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, "for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt International Criminal Court action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies, and executives."

"Albanese's campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated," Rubio added. "We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense. The United States will continue to take whatever actions we deem necessary to respond to lawfare and protect our sovereignty and that of our allies."

First of all, it should go without saying that the Trumpenreich's allegations against Francesca Albanese are unquestionably political, punitive, and false in nature. Albanese is one of the most respected legal scholars on the planet, and the foremost authority on Palestine and the living conditions of Palestinians under Israeli occupation, in the international community. The idea that a corrupt little McCarthyite pig like Marco Rubio has the credibility to stand in judgement over Albanese's excellent investigative work is funhouse mirror nazi farce shit all on its own.

Unfortunately this write up buries the lede here, but the background information you need to know is that Albanese recently released a report detailing the various (Pig Empire) corporate interests helping Israel to illegally annex the (Palestinian) West Bank in slow motion, which is why Rubio is more or less accusing her of economic terrorism. Speaking more broadly however, this is a blatant attempt by the US government to sideline one of the most dedicated and effective critics of the Israeli-American joint genocide in Gaza and the larger ethnic cleansing project being conducted against Palestinians in the region. Furthermore, while in the days since the sanctions were announced Albanese has indicated that she has no intentions of halting her work to expose these crimes against humanity, the truth is that this *is* going to make it harder for her to work with other scholars and investigators from Pig Empire aligned nations.

Finally, I'd like to take a moment to expand on a point made by Trita Parsi in this article:

"Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive director of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, noted that the Trump administration this week removed al-Qaeda-linked militants who toppled the regime of longtime Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations, but is sanctioning a U.N. human rights official.

"Let that sink in," Parsi said."

While there is no denying that supporting the US-backed genocide in Gaza by any means necessary is a bipartisan position in the US ruling class establishment, I think it says a lot that in Gaza alone, Trump has essentially violated every foreign policy promise he was originally elected on back in 2016. He promised his supporters no more forever wars, yet here we are funding and perpetuating a nearly two year old militarized genocide in Gaza. He promised to root out the War on Terror era NatSec ghouls who worked with Al-Qaeda, and yet here his State Department is normalizing former Al-Qaeda brigades in Syria in the precise way he went after the Obama regime for. You can certainly point out that Trump's foreign policy is simply a continuation of longstanding US imperialism in the MENA, but you can't deny that HE said it wouldn't be.